Locomotive draw-bar coupling



(No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. P. PRENDERGAST.

LOGOMOTIVE DRAW BAR COUPLING. No. 470,897. Patented Mar. 15,1892.

W1 61188995, III-Vendor,

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. P. PRENDERGAST.

LOGOMOTIVE DRAW BAR COUPLING.

No. 470,897. Patented Mar. 15, .1892.

figu,

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pilot draw-bar 10.

WILL. P. PRENDERGAST,

on ST. 'Louis, MISSOURI.

LOCOMOTIVE DRAW-BAR COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 470,897, dated March15, 1892. Application filed October 16, 1891. Serial No. 408.850. (Nomodel.)

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILL. P. PRENDERGAST, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented acertain new and useful Locomotive-Pilot Draw-Bar Coupler, of which thefollowing is such a full, clear, and exact description as will enableany one skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a ready means whereby the pilotdraw-bar of a locomotive may be coupled to a car.

The invention relates to devices for conveniently raising and loweringthe pilot drawbar to effect the said coupling.

The invention will be best understood by referring to the accompanyingdrawings, illustrating one form of my invention, and in which- Figure 1is a plan View of the fore part of a locomotive (cow-catcher) providedwith my improvement. Fig. 2 is aside elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is anisometric projection of the mechanism for raising a pilot draw-bar toelfect the coupling, and Fig. 4 a front elevation.

To one of the bottom bars 5 of a cow-catcher of a locomotive is securedan angle-iron 6, suitably perforated to receive a spindle 7, carrying anarm 8, bifurcated at its upper end to support a roller 9, which takesbeneath the This draw-bar is of the usual construction and needs noexplanation. Upon the other end of the spindle 7 is slipped a perforatedbar 11, having a notch 12 in the end thereof for engaging a lug 13,projecting from said spindle 7. This bar is shown in Fig. 3 as brokenaway at its upper end to economize space in the drawings. It is engagedby the turned-over part 14 of another bar 15, forming therewith anextensible handle, the said bar 11 having a turned-over part 14 at itsupper end, against which the part 14 may come to prevent the two barsfrom being separated from each other. The bar 15 may be suitablyadjusted along the bar 11.

The bars 11 and 15 pass up between two of the bars of the cow-catcher.The extensible handle formed by the bars 11 and 15 is capable of atilting movement, so as to engage and disengage the lug 1.3 of thespindle 7, and thereby to couple and uncouple the extensible handle toor from the spindle, as desired.

Any means of coupling or uncoupling the extensible handle I regard aswithin the spirit of my invention.

The normal position of the pilot draw-bar is that shown in Fig. 1 and bydotted lines in Fig. 2. Vhen this pilot draw-bar is to be coupled to acar, ordinarily it must be raised by hand to effect the coupling, and asit weighs in the neighborhood of one hundred and twenty-five pounds,this is not an easy task to accomplish, besides endangering the life ofthe person who effects the coupling. Another objection to raising thedraw-bar by hand is that the engineer cannot ordinarily see the personwho is making the coupling when the draw-bar is raised by hand. In thepresent invention I arrange the extensible handle at the fore part andat that side of the locomotive which is visible from the engineers cab,and this enables the engineer to readily see when the coupling iseffected, so that he may govern the locomotive accordingly. The normalposition of the extensible handle is as represented in Figs. 1 and 2.When a coupling is to be made, the bar 15 is grasped and is preferablyslid along the bar 11, so as to make a longer lever-arm, Fig. 4, andthereby increase the leverage to make the pilot draw-bar raise easily.The normal position of.

the arm 8, roller 9, and lug 13 is that shown by the dotted line in Fig.2. To make a coupling, the handle is thrown forward and is then tiltedand the notch therein made to engage the lug 13, Fig. 4, whereupon thehandle is thrown backward to its normal position, raising the arm 8 andcausing the roller 9 to travel beneath the draw-bar and lifting the sameto the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4. After the coupling is efiectedthe handle may be made to disengage'the lug 13, or not, as the case maybe, and then the arm 8 and roller 9 will drop to their normal position.The roller 9 acts as an anti-friction device and makes the bar lifteasier. When the coupling is effected, the extensible handle being inits normal position, the bar 15 will of its own weight gravitate downthe bar 11 to its normal position.

I Having now fully set forth my invention,

what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis 1. The combination, with a pilot d raw-bar of a locomotive, of asuitable handle, levers and connections intermediate ot' the handle andthe said draw-bar, by which the d raw-bar may be raised and lowered, andmeans for disconnecting the handle from the mechanism, for the purposedescribed.

2. As a means of raising and lowering a pilot draw-bar of a locomotiveto effect coupling and uncouplingof the same, a spindle suitablyjournaled upon the cow-catcher, an arm carried therebybearing ananti-friction roller, and an extensible handle controlling said spindleand arm to raise and lower the bar.

The combination, with a pilot draw-bar of a locomotive, of a spindlejournaled beneath the bars of the cow-catcher of a locomotive, an armcarried thereby adapted to engage the said draw-bar, a t-iltable handleextendingbe tween the bars of the cow-catcher, and means whereby thehandle may be connected and disconnected from said spindle,substantially as and for the purpose described.

4: As a means of raising and lowering the pilot draw-bar of a locomotiveto effect coupling and uncoupling of the same, a spindle suitablyjournaled upon the cow-catcher, an arm carried thereby, an extensiblehandle extending between the bars of the cow-catcher on that side of thelocomotive visible from the engineers cab and controlling said spindleand arm to raise and lower the draw-bar, and means for coupling anduncoupling said extensible handle to and from said spindle, for thepurpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and at'iixed my seal,this 28th day of September, 1801, in the presence of the two subscribingwitnesses.

WILL. P. PRENDERGAST.

\Vitnesses:

